Embalming process

ABSTRACT

In abstract, a preferred embodiment of this invention is a process to restore natural color to bodies that are discolored as a result of death caused by lack of oxygen. This restoration of natural color is accomplished through a process utilizing a heated embalming fluid while cooling the body exterior rather than external, cosmetic methods.

United States Patent 1 Duncan Nov. 27, 1973 EMBALMING PROCESS [76] Inventor: Stephen M. Duncan, 114 E. Pitt St.,

Tarboro, NC.

[22] Filed: Aug. 14, 1972 211 Appl. No; 280,102

[52] U.S. Cl. 27/22 [51] Int. Cl A0ln 1/000 [58] Field of Search 27/22 R, 22 A, 21,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l/l926 Brunetti 27/22 R OTHER PUBLICATIONS Eckels, Modern Mortuary Science, 1946 pg. 303

Myers, Champion Text-book on Embalming, I908 pg. 330

Primary Examiner-Richard A. Gaudet Assistant Examiner-G. F. Dunne Attorney-John G. Mills, III,

[ 5 7] ABSTRACT 14 Claims, N0 Drawings EMBALMING PROCESS This invention relates to embalming and more particularly to embalming methods whereby natural color is restored to bodies that are discolored as the result of death caused by lack of oxygen.

In the past, various methods have been used to make the bodies of deceased persons look more natural and life-like. This is particularly necessary when the body has become discolored because of natural phenomena such as liver malfunction or oxygen starvation just prior to death. This latter mentioned cause of discoloration creates a distinct cherry red color in the body that, if not corrected, can be very unsightly and thus upsetting to relatives and friends of the deceased who view the body, as is the common practice prior to burial.

Exterior facial make-up has been used to create a more natural coloring in the exposed parts of the body when the same is to be viewed. This make-up procedure is laborious to apply and is unnatural looking at best. It gives the body a theatrical look that distracts from any similarities of naturalness.

After much research and study into the above men tioned problems, the present invention has been developed which provides a method for restoring natural color to bodies that become discolored as a result of death caused by lack of oxygen. This method of restoring natural color is accomplished through internal means rather than external make-up. The process of the present invention includes the use of cosmetic ingredients mixed with standard embalming fluid, such mixture being heated and injected while hot into the body with external cold water spray cooling thereafter. Through the use of this improved process, natural color is returned to the body so that little if any make-up is necessary to present a natural looking body for viewing.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method whereby by internal process a bodycan be returned to normal coloration after discoloration caused by death from lack of oxygen.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an embalming process including the adding of cosmetic ingredients to an embalming fluid and injecting the same at elevated temperature, under pressure, followed by cooling of the body with cold water spray.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of removing oxygen starvation discoloration from a corpse including the step of internally injecting cosmetic ingredients mixed with the embalming fluid.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of removing oxygen starvation discoloration from a corpse by adding medium cosmetic ingredients to a twenty index lanolin base embalming fluid, heating such fluid mixture to just below the boiling point and injecting such mixture under pressure into a body while cooling the exterior of the same with ice water and medium massage.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and obvious from a study of the following description which is merely illustrative of such invention.

The problem of jaundice bodies has always been known. This is caused by liver malfunction either just prior. to or at death and gives the body a yellowish color. Formaldehyde, the most commonly used embalming fluid, reacts with the jaundice fluid to give the body a yellowish green or green color. This problem has been attacked by many different methods including the addition of coloring stains into the injected embalming fluids. This method of adding color to the body to return it to a natural looking state has not worked satisfactory on jaundice bodies.

When death is caused by oxygen starvation, the body will turn a cherry red with splotchy discoloration appearing particularly around the head and neck regions. The same method of adding coloring stains to the embalming fluid has been tried as with jaundice bodies and the same negative or unsatisfactory results have been noted. In the deoxygenized body, the problem is compounded by the fact that stains which might affect the splotchy areas also affect the nondiscolored areas and vice-versa thus making an uniform coloration impossible to achieve through dye stain means.

Adding embalming cosmetics (coloring additives or dyes) to the embalming fluid used by embalmers is a common practice due to the fact that any body that has been drained of blood will have a yellowish tint to it. The cosmetics in the embalming flluid add back coloring and thus give the body a life-like appearance. Even this relatively simple procedure is compounded by the fact that no two parts of the body are the same color. As is well known to all embalmers, hands are a different color from feet, the face doesnt match any other body color (the rump being the closest thereto) and so forth. Thus the problem arises that if you match the face color of the body, then the hands will not appear natural. Usually a compromise coloring is arrived at which is as close as possible to all exposed parts of the body.

From the above it can be seen that the use of coloring of dyes injected into the body with the embalming fluid has appeared to be only practicalin death cases with no major combinations and is a compromise process at best. In jaundice and oxygen starvation cases, theatrical make-up has generally been used to make the body as presentable as possible. As heretofore mentioned, this process is of marginal acceptability at best.

It is generally accepted by morticians and others involved in embalming bodies that heated embalming so-. lution cannot be used except in frozen bodies since it causes a reaction to occur between the formaldehyde and the body with the formaldehyde dissipating. The body will appear to be preserved but in fact will be what is commonly known as water logged and will very rapidly deteriorate. Thus the idea of using heated embalming fluids has been thought to be completely unacceptable and uninoperable in the preservation process.

Likewise, it has been found that. forcing fluids into a body under pressure will cause the arteries, veins, or organs involved to rupture or blow out" at a weak point thus causing pooling of the fluid in the surrounding area. This rupturing causes swelling and deformation of the body and is completely unacceptable. The head is particularly subject to rupture of membranes and is, of course, the one area where swelling cannot be tolerated if the body is to be viewed. Thus pressure in the embalming process is used as little as possible and great care must be taken when it is used to assure that damage is not done to the body.

There has not appeared to be any conventional method of restoring natural color to a deoxygenized body. The present invention has been developed utilizing carefully controlled processes that have heretofore been considered impractical or impossible to use satisfactorily.

The method of returning the cherry red, blotchy coloration of the oxygen starved body to a natural coloration is accomplished by heating the embalming fluid to near boiling temperature, then injecting the same by what is commonly called the direct or six-point injection method into the body to the point just prior to swelling. The exterior of the body is drenched with ice water during the injection step with applied medium massage. Once the injection has been completed, the cold water spraying of the body is continued for approximately 1 hour. Through this process of carefully but quickly injecting a near boiling embalming fluid into a body that is thawed and then cooling the same during the injection and thereafter with ice water reduces to a negligible point the dissipation of the formaldehyde and gives adequate preservation while at the same time removing the oxygenated discoloring from the skin and leaving the body a natural color. Since, as heretofore mentioned, a body drained of blood will have a yellowish tint to it, cosmetic ingredients can be added to the hot embalming fluid when it is injected to give the body the desired alive coloration.

A specific example of the preferred embodiment of the present process is to prepare 5 to 6 gallons of embalming solution, depending upon the weight and size of the body. This solution preferably is composed of ten ounces of twenty index lanolin base formaldehyde to each gallon of water to form the embalming fluid to be injected. Embalming cosmetic ingredients are also added in the desired color and amounts to give the desired end coloration. The thus prepared solution is heated to just below the boiling point. The hot solution is then injected directly into the body in the usual manner, preferably by what is commonly known as the sixpoint injection method. This means that six different areas of the body are each handled as a single unit or area with the injected fluid and drainage being limited to such unit or area. (Thus you could only treat the exposed parts of the body by the process of the present invention and preserve the remaining portions thereof by the conventional method but most embalmers probably would prefer to use the process on the entire body.) The solution being injected is under pressure of approximately 6 pounds per square inch, depending on the body being preserved. As the fluid is being injected, the exterior of that area of the body is being drenched with water cooled to just above the freezing point and a medium massage is applied to the affected area. The purpose of the approximate 6 psi pressure is to speed up the injection process as much as possible to prevent formaldehyde dissipation (which if allowed to happen would cause the body to become water logged as hereinabove mentioned) and yet is low enough to have very little chance of causing membrane rupture or blow out.

After circulation is established as hereinabove described, a slow rate of flow of embalming fluid is used with intermittent drainage. Once the flow rate is established, the solution in the area being prepared should be injected as quickly as possible. In this process, a water collar of standard configuration may be needed to reduce the chance of swelling when injecting fluid into the head.

Although it is not deemed necessary, it has been found helpful to add a standard, clear type preinjection-coinjection type glycerine to the embalming fluid to aid in drainage during the injection process.

Again, after the embalming fluids have been injected as hereinabove described, the cold water spray that was used to drench the exterior of the body during the process is allowed to continue to flow over the body for approximately 1 hour thereafter. This, of course, assures that the body is cooled to a sufficient level to prevent dissipation of the formaldehyde and thus prevention of the undesirable condition of water logging.

When a corpose or body is embalmed by the process hereinabove described, the cherry red splotches and red discoloration of the body will clear up and the same will return to a natural, normal color. The embalming cosmetics, if used in the fluid, will give the correct tent of the body and eliminate the yellowish discoloration caused by the blood having been removed.

The process of the present invention not only clears up the cherry red, splotchy discoloration and redness of the deoxygenized body, but also does not cause swelling or water logging of the body and preserves the same equally as well as standard, prior known processes. Thus, although the process of the present invention requires possibly some additional care and thought, it does accomplish a result that has heretofore been unobtainable by a process heretofore though to be impossible to use and still accomplish.

The present invention has the advantage of providing a method whereby bodies wherein death was caused by oxygen starvation with resultant cherry red discoloration can be returned to a normal color and be made to look natural without restoring to exterior or theatrical type make-up.

The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

l. A process for embalming deoxygenized bodies comprising: heating an embalming fluid to a temperature near the boiling temperature of said fluid; injecting said fluid into the body; and cooling the exterior of the body to a temperature near its freezing temperature during the embalming process and continue to cool the exterior of the body for approximately 1 hour following completion of the injection step whereby normally red discoloration of the exterior of the body can be eliminated and the body returned to a natural appearing color.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the embalming fluid is a lanolin base, formaldehyde type fluid.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein said fluid is injected into the body under pressure.

4. The process of claim 3 wherein the pressure is approximately 6 psi.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein said fluid is injected into the body using the direct, six-point injection system.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein water, cooled to a temperature just below its freezing temperature, is sprayed over the exterior of the body to cool the same during the injection step and for a limited period thereafter.

8. The process of claim 1 wherein light massaging of 5 the body is coordinated with the injection of the heated fluid thereinto.

9. The process of claim 1 wherein embalming cosmetic ingredients are mixed into the embalming fluid thereby aiding in the return of a natural color to the body during the embalming process.

10. The process of claim 1 wherein a standard, clear type, preinjection-coinjection glycerine is added to the embalming fluid to aid in drainage thereof.

11. A process for embalming a body that has become discolored due to oxygen starvation at the time of death comprising: heating an embalming fluid to a temperature near the boiling temperature of said fluid; injecting, under pressure, said heated fluid into the body;

spraying the exterior of the body with water, cooled to a temperature near its freezing temperature, during the injection process; and continuing the spraying of said water over the exterior of said body for a predetermined period of time following the completion of the injection of the embalming fluid whereby any discoloration caused by the oxygen deficiency at depth will be removed and the body returned to a more natural color.

12. The process of claim 11 wherein said fluid is injected under a pressure of approximately 6 psi.

13. The process of claim 12 wherein the predetermined time for which the cold is continued to be sprayed over the exterior of the body is approximately 1 hour following the completion of the injection step.

14. The process of claim 11 wherein embalming cosmetic ingredients are added to the embalming fluid prior to said fluid being injected into said body. 

1. A process for embalming deoxygenized bodies comprising: heating an embalming fluid to a temperature near the boiling temperature of said fluid; injecting said fluid into the body; and cooling the exterior of the body to a temperature near its freezing temperature during the embalming process and continue to cool the exterior of the body for approximately 1 hour following completion of the injection step whereby normally red discoloration of the exterior of the body can be eliminated and the body returned to a natural appearing color.
 2. The process of claim 1 wherein the embalming fluid is a lanolin base, formaldehyde type fluid.
 3. The process of claim 1 wherein said fluid is injected into the body under pressure.
 4. The process of claim 3 wherein the pressure is approximately 6 psi.
 5. The process of claim 1 wherein said fluid is injected into the body using the direct, six-point injection system.
 6. The process of claim 1 wherein water, cooled to a temperature just below its freezing temperature, is sprayed over the exterior of the body to cool the same during the injection step and for a limited period thereafter.
 7. The process of claim 6 wherein the continued spraying of the cold water over the surface of the body after the injection of the embalming fluid is approximately 1 hour.
 8. The process of claim 1 wherein light massaging of the body is coordinated with the injection of the heated fluid thereinto.
 9. The process of claim 1 wherein embalming cosmetic ingredients are mixed into the embalming fluid thereby aiding in the return of a natural color to the body during the embalming process.
 10. The process of claim 1 wherein a standard, clear type, preinjection-coinjection glycerine is added to the embalming fluid to aid in drainage thereof.
 11. A process for embalming a body that has become discolored due to oxygen starvation at the time of death comprising: heating an embalming fluid to a temperature near the boiling temperature of said fluid; injecting, under pressure, said heated fluid into the body; spraying the exterior of the body with water, cooled to a temperature near its freezing temperature, during the injection process; and continuing the spraying of said water over the exterior of said body for a predetermined period of time following the completion of the injection of the embalming fluid whereby any discoloration caused by the oxygen deficiency at depth will be removed and the body returned to a more natural color.
 12. The process of claim 11 wherein said fluid is injected under a pressure of approximately 6 psi.
 13. The process of claIm 12 wherein the predetermined time for which the cold is continued to be sprayed over the exterior of the body is approximately 1 hour following the completion of the injection step.
 14. The process of claim 11 wherein embalming cosmetic ingredients are added to the embalming fluid prior to said fluid being injected into said body. 